What We Deserve
by EdeaOfEternia
Summary: AKA the "Happy Ending AU" - absolute fan-pandering nonsense, but something I wanted to write up to frame a world where everyone was still alive at the end of it all. Well, mostly everyone. Spoilers, although obviously none of this happens. Still, it'd be nice if it did, right...?


"Ringabel, wait." She couldn't afford to hold her tongue anymore. "Please, don't—don't fly us in just yet."

The blonde glanced over his shoulder at her, brow knitted in concern. Tiz and Agnes gave her similar looks. "Is something the matter, Edea?"

"I…" She looked at them and her voice fled for the proverbial hills. So many reasons had piled up in her heart, and yet now of all times, she couldn't seem to form a single sentence. "I don't…"

"Edea," Agnes said urgently, but with concern, "We can't afford to waste time. The Great Chasm will close any moment!"

"She's right, Edea," Tiz nodded beside her, "What's wrong?"

_You may choose whichever world you like,_ the Sage's words echoed in her mind. They should have brought her comfort, but instead they brought the complete opposite.

"I don't know where to go." Agnes was right. They didn't have time for this. If they stood around debating, they'd be stuck here in this world no matter what they wanted. But…but still! "I don't know which world to pick."

"What are you talking about, Edea?" Tiz was stunned. "Aren't we just going back to where we came from?"

"Yeah," Edea looked up and stared directly at their pompadour-toting pilot. "That's…that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

Ringabel blinked and then turned away, gripping the wheel a little tighter. He didn't say anything, but Agnes and Tiz noticed.

"Ringabel," Tiz started, "You _wouldn't_—"

"I don't want to lose you—any of you," Edea interrupted, her voice tight. "But I also — I can't help but wish that — that Master Kamiizumi, and Einheria — Holly and Konoe and gods, even Victor and Victoria! After every world we've been through… I see now that there truly is no such thing as black or white. I…"

"Edea…" Agnes moved to place a hand on her shoulder. "If that's truly what you want, then—"

"But what about you?" Edea looked up, frantic and pleading. "All of you! Agnes, Olivia survived in one world! And Til, too! And we were able to prevent all those deaths in Goodman's residence, we were able to save—we saved almost everyone! I …I can't be the only one who wants that, can I? Can any of you really stand to just go back to where we came, after all the damage we caused—"

"We don't belong anywhere else, Edea," Ringabel said sharply, his back turned to them all. Even without the armor, he had suddenly very much become Alternis Dim in that very moment. "We need to go back to where we —"

"Says who?!" She marched up the steps and grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face her. "The Sage said it himself — he said we could choose wherever we wanted!"

"You'd abandon your parents then?" he demanded. "The ones who birthed and raised you—"

"And you would abandon _us?"_ she snapped back, tears finally spilling from her eyes. "After all _we've_ been through? And don't bother arguing, Ringabel, I saw it on your face! Tiz and Agnes, too! You were just going to fly us through and return to your own world to do what? Grieve alone for the rest of your miserable life? What kind of existence is that?!"

She turned to face the Vestal and the last survivor of Norende.

"I know it's selfish," she said, wiping her face with the back of her glove. "But haven't we suffered enough? Haven't we seen the same horrifying tragedies unfold over and over again to warrant a little case of selfishness? I mean, we — we saved the _world!_ Countless worlds! We stood on the precipice of — of the end of everything, and we prevailed against a god! Doesn't that count for anything to any of you?"

The group fell silent, until finally their pilot muttered out, "Then which world do you propose we return to, Edea? The one where Yulyana—"

"No," she shook her head. "Even that world wasn't perfect. I want… I want us to settle in a perfect world."

"A perfect world?" Agnes repeated, frowning. "What are you talking about, Edea?"

"I mean, there's countless worlds out there! Airy didn't just link six together, she linked…billions!" She threw her arms up in the air, desperation climbing as her friends seemed to come around. "There has to be one — one where our counterparts were killed, but where everyone else survives. There just has to be. That way, we can all take their place—"

"But Edea, what if that world doesn't exist?" Tiz interrupted. "Where would we end up then?"

"I don't know," Edea shook her head. "It's…it's definitely a risk, but—I truly, deeply believe that it exists out there. Somewhere. It just has to."

She looked between the three of them, her heart pounding. Then, slowly, she extended her hand towards the Wind Vestal.

"Agnes…I know that Crystalism didn't turn out to be all you were taught to. But I do truly believe that the Crystals, and the Angel that you became, and even those in the Celestial Realm would allow us this! Don't you? If we just…believe."

The Wind Vestal stared at her for a moment, her dark eyes searching the blues of the younger, and suddenly much more fragile girl. After letting out a soft sigh, Agnes nodded and accepted her hand.

"I never thought I would ever hear you speak of such things, Edea," she chuckled. "I think that in itself is a miracle."

"A-Agnes—" The bumpkin stuttered, shocked at her decision.

"What do you think, Tiz?" she turned to him with a serene smile. "Shall we try for a perfect world? I really did want you to introduce you to Olivia more properly…and I'm sure Til misses you very much."

At her words, the young man felt tears start to well up in his own eyes — but he quickly blinked them away and nodded, struggling to keep his voice even. "A-Any world with you in it is perfect, Agnes…I'll…I'll go wherever you do, until the very end."

"Wow, Tiz! That was actually pretty cute," Edea giggled at his sudden burst of poetic gesture, and the Wind Vestal looked away, blushing.

The three then looked over to their captain, who had remained silent the entire time. Before any of them could ask he let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Well, I suppose if that's what three of you have decided," Glancing over his shoulder, he gave them all wink. "Then I'll be bound to follow you no matter. After all, what sort of perfect world could exist without me?"

"It couldn't." For once, Edea didn't have a snarky response to one of his eye-roll-worthy lines. Instead, she threw her arms around his middle and gave him a tight hug from behind. "…Thank you, Ringabel… Or do you prefer Alternis now?"

"I…uh… I-I'll answer to either for you, my dear," He ducked his head as his cheeks flared up a bright magenta, clearing his throat and gripping the wheel once more with determination. "I-In the meantime, I suggest you all hold onto something — if we're going to make it into that perfect world of ours before the Chasm closes, we're going to have to go in at full speed!"

"Then let's go already!" Edea didn't let go of him. Instead, she tugged Agnes and Tiz closer, making sure that the quartet were all joined together somehow — by hands, by arms, by anything — "Off to our perfect world!"

With that, the Warriors of Light soared ahead, plunging into the Great Chasm…and into the unknown just beyond…

And yes, by the grace of the Crystals, they found their perfect world upon the other side.


End file.
